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enTue, 22 May 2018 00:00:00 +0200https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/world-cup-trophy-theft-solved-after-52-years.679854
A London gangster and his brother were behind the notorious unsolved theft of the World Cup trophy just months before the 1966 tournament in England, it has been claimed.
Sidney Cugullere, with the help of his brother Reg, stole the Jules Rimet trophy while it was on public exhibition at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, Reg's son Gary said.
The theft led to one of the biggest investigations in Scotland Yard's history, before the gold cup was found seven days later by a dog named Pickles in bushes outside his owner's south London home. The masterminds behind the heist remained a mystery.
Gary told the Daily Mirror that his uncle Sidney had stolen the trophy "for the thrill" and not for financial gain - and that Reg had also been in the hall at the time of the theft but had not seen Sidney take the cup.
He added: "On the street after coming out of the doors, Sid lifted his jacket and said, "Ere you are, Reg, look at this'. He opened one side of his jacket and the World Cup was there."
Gary claimed the pair hid it in Reg's father-in-law's coal shed.
"My dad was freaking out and he knew there was no way they could sell the cup. They realised they had to give it back," he... ]]>Thu, 24 May 2018 07:09:00 +0200https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/world-cup-trophy-theft-solved-after-52-years.679854https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180523/odd-news/michael-jackson-used-special-shoes-for-smooth-criminal-tilt.679739
Michael Jackson really acted out the part of a smooth criminal when he performed his gravity-defying 45 degree forward tilt in front of screaming fans, a study has shown.
The "mind-boggling" dance move, first seen in the 1987 "Smooth Criminal" video, was a clever illusion invented by the pop star.
Fans were amazed to see him repeat the feat live - and completely fooled.
A team of three neurosurgeons wrote in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine: "Several MJ fans, including the authors, have tried to copy this move and failed, often injuring themselves in their endeavours."
A patent registered under Jackson's name reveals how the trick was achieved.
The pop legend designed a special shoe with a triangular slot in the heel which hooked onto a metallic peg that emerged from the stage floor at just the right moment.
This allowed Jackson to lean forward at a seemingly impossible angle without collapsing in an undignified heap.
The scientists were led by long-time Jackson fan Nishant Yagnick, from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India.
In their journal article they explain how most trained dancers with strong core strength can achieve no more... ]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 07:01:00 +0200https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180523/odd-news/michael-jackson-used-special-shoes-for-smooth-criminal-tilt.679739https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180523/odd-news/traffic-lights-might-advise-drivers-on-getting-to-next-lights-at-green.679782
Smart traffic lights designed to end stop-go driving will be tested in Britain.
The signals will advise motorists and vehicles what speed they should drive at so they arrive at the next set of lights just as they turn green.
Engineering firm AECOM is developing the scheme to cut congestion and reduce vehicle emissions through more efficient driving.
It will be tested using a simulation model of the A59 in York.
The concept is one of five shortlisted entries in a competition launched by the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), Highways England and Innovate UK to create roads for driverless cars.
AECOM principal consultant Heather Hawkins said: "We are excited and are eager to get started so we can better understand the potential impact of vehicle-to-infrastructure technologies on our local road network in York.
"We are fortunate to be living and working in a city which has chosen to be an early innovator, deploying and testing these technologies on-street through existing research programmes. It's truly inspiring and we are grateful to be a part of it."
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: "It is great to see novel technology like this being trialled.
"Stop-start traffic causes... ]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 07:45:00 +0200https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180523/odd-news/traffic-lights-might-advise-drivers-on-getting-to-next-lights-at-green.679782https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180523/odd-news/technological-attempt-to-prove-whether-loch-ness-monster-exists.679785
The legend of the Loch Ness monster has baffled scientists for centuries - but now a group of experts hope modern technology will reveal what really lives in the murky depths of the Scottish lake.
Neil Gemmell, a scientist from New Zealand, will lead the global team on a search of Loch Ness using DNA sampling techniques to uncover its secrets.
Genetic code will be extracted from the lake's water, collected over a two-week period, to determine the types of creatures that make the lake their home.
While Prof Gemmell is not convinced the Loch Ness monster exists, he hopes it could still throw up some interesting surprises.
"I don't believe in the idea of a monster," he said. "But I'm open to the idea that there are things yet to be discovered and not fully understood.
"Maybe there's a biological explanation for some of the stories."
DNA can be captured in the lake through tiny fragments left behind by creatures as they swim through the waters - from skin and scales, for example.
After the team's trip next month, the samples will be sent to labs in New Zealand, Australia, Denmark and France to be analysed against a genetic database.
"There's absolutely no doubt that we will find... ]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 12:27:00 +0200https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180523/odd-news/technological-attempt-to-prove-whether-loch-ness-monster-exists.679785https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/sheriff-forgets-her-gun-in-ladies-toilet.679875
A county sheriff in Nevada has apologised for leaving her handgun unattended in the ladies' toilet at a casino last week and asked forgiveness from voters just three weeks ahead of her re-election bid.
Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said the lunchtime incident at the Saddle West hotel-casino was embarrassing.
In a sheriff's office Facebook message, Sheriff Wehrly said she put the weapon on one side in a cubicle and left it while answering a mobile phone call. She said she was returning to the fetch it about 10 minutes later when the gun was found by a casino employee. ]]>Thu, 24 May 2018 11:50:00 +0200https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/sheriff-forgets-her-gun-in-ladies-toilet.679875https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/cake-message-censored-after-computer-thinks-one-word-is-a-profanity.679876
A South Carolina woman is not happy that a grocery store censored her honours graduate son's cake, which was supposed to include the Latin phrase "Summa Cum Laude".
Cara Koscinski told The Washington Post a cake online from Publix was supposed to say "Congrats Jacob! Summa Cum Laude class of 2018''.
She said the online message box did not like the word "cum", the Latin word for "with". The computer marked it as a naughty word and substituted three hyphens.
Ms Koscinski said she then filled in a box for special instructions, explaining the Latin word and placed the $70 order. Another family member picked up the cake, not knowing what it was supposed to say.
It came with the hyphens.
She said the store gave her a refund and a gift card when she complained. ]]>Thu, 24 May 2018 16:31:00 +0200https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/cake-message-censored-after-computer-thinks-one-word-is-a-profanity.679876https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/man-tried-to-kill-his-wife-by-tampering-with-her-parachute.679892
A British Army sergeant has been found guilty of attempting to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute and sabotaging a gas valve at their home.
A jury of nine men and three women convicted 38-year-old Emile Cilliers, of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, of two attempted murder charges and a third count of damaging the gas fitting recklessly endangering life following a retrial at Winchester Crown Court.
The defendant showed no emotion as he was convicted unanimously on the two counts of attempted murder and by a majority of 10 to two on the criminal damage charge.
Victoria Cilliers, a highly-experienced parachuting instructor, suffered near-fatal injuries when both her main and reserve 'chutes failed when she took part in a jump at the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon, Wiltshire, on Easter Sunday, April 5, 2015.
Mr Justice Sweeney thanked the jurors for fulfilling their duty "with distinction" and told them: "The burden now falls on me on what to do as far as this defendant is concerned; that too is a heavy burden."
He continued: "It's an important part of any sentencing exercise where there is a victim or intended victim, as there plainly is in this... ]]>Thu, 24 May 2018 14:50:00 +0200https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/man-tried-to-kill-his-wife-by-tampering-with-her-parachute.679892https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/red-faces-in-london-as-foreign-secretary-discusses-russia-with.679901
Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson talked international relations and rude poetry with a hoax caller who pretended to be the Armenian prime minister in a new gaffe by one of Britain's most prominent politicians.
In the 18-minute call, Johnson discussed relations with Russia, the Iran nuclear deal and the Syrian war, according to audio of the call uploaded on YouTube and shared on the Twitter pages of Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus.
Britain's foreign office confirmed that Johnson had been hoaxed and said the perpetrator was "childish", while a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Theresa May said an investigation was under way "to make sure this doesn't happen again".
"This shouldn't have happened," the spokeswoman said.
The caller, impersonating Armenia's new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, said he was going to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, and asked Johnson's advice for dealing with him.
"I hope he will not poison me with Novichok," the prankster joked, referring to a nerve agent used in the March attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, for which Britain has blamed Russia. Johnson can be heard chuckling on the other end of the line.
Later in the call,... ]]>Thu, 24 May 2018 18:18:00 +0200https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20180524/odd-news/red-faces-in-london-as-foreign-secretary-discusses-russia-with.679901